For the third straight year, the city of Miramar in Florida, USA, is incorporating a raft of exciting Reggae Month activities into its annual celebration of Black History Month in February, under the overarching theme ‘Black History Meets Reggae’.
Commissioner of Miramar Alexandra P. Davis is the Jamaican-American who is leading the charge, and she has the full support of Jamaica’s Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, as well as the island’s Consul General to Miami, Oliver Mair. Commissioner Davis and Consul General Mair are working closely with other agencies to highlight some of the events as part of the official Jamaica Jubilee Independence. The official launch took place on February 2.
For 2022, the three consecutive days of activities will include the Reggae Icons Awards on February 24; a winner-takes-all sound clash, titled ‘Rumble in Miramar’, with a first prize of US$2,000 on February 25; and the Afro Carib Festival, which turns the spotlight on reggae, Afrobeats and reggaeton on Saturday, February 26, at the Miramar Amphitheatre. The event features Protoje, Afro B and Eix.
“We want to keep our culture alive outside of Jamaica, and having an entire month to celebrate reggae and Jamaica is a wonderful way to do it,” stated Davis. “It’s important to have something locally that folk here in the diaspora can participate and enjoy,” Davis said.
The Miramar Cultural Center will play host to the Reggae Icon Awards, a glitzy, red-carpet affair which was first staged in February 2020. This year’s special awardee is reggae icon Bob Marley, who is the recipient of the new Jamaica 60th Legacy Award. Reggae band Inner Circle and radio host Clinton Lindsay will be honoured with the Reggae Icon Award. Dale V.C. Holness, former Broward County commissioner and mayor, will receive the Marcus Garvey Award. He was the first Jamaican-American to serve as mayor on the Broward County Commission.
A special proclamation will be given to the widow of Bob Marley and matriarch of the Marley family, Rita Marley. The organisers note that limited free tickets are available at http://bhmriconawards22.eventbrite.com.
In 2020, the first year of Black HistoryMeets Reggae collaboration and the inaugural staging of the Reggae Icon Awards, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange was a recipient of a proclamation from the City of Miramar and Keys to Broward County. Minister Grange will deliver a message at this year’s Reggae Icon Awards.
Mair noted, “The Jamaican Consulate is happy to once again partner with the City of Miramar and the Black History Meets Reggae initiative. We believe, as Bob Marley says, that ‘music is going to teach them a lesson’, and reggae music has many lesson that we have taught to the world that are so appropriate here, especially during February, which is Reggae Month and Black History Month. Reggae music has been a beacon of hope for many around the world. We have had several messages of equal rights and justice for all; that is very timely as people of the world continue to grapple with issues of injustice and racial tension. So, we welcome stalwarts Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Burning Spear and Jimmy Cliff, and the lot who have championed human rights all over the world”
SOURCE: Jamaica Gleaner
